Sam Mellinger | Ex-GM Peterson ‘saddened’ by Chiefs’ situation
By SAM MELLINGER
The Kansas City Star
Carl Peterson knows exactly why I called. He knows why some Chiefs fans want to hear from him. In some real ways, this conversation is a beach ball of schadenfreude placed on a tee for the man who effectively ran all things Chiefs for nearly 20 years, then was fired four years ago with his reputation in Kansas City at least frayed.

Peterson knows all of this. He won’t take his biggest swing.

But he will make solid contact.

“I guess like every Chiefs fan, I’m disappointed and I’m saddened by what’s transpired there,” he says. “I think I know and made a real point to learn who the Chiefs fans were and what they wanted. I feel for them, because I’ve always felt the Kansas City Chiefs were, should be, and could be a great franchise.”

There’s more.

“I was very, very fortunate to work for Lamar Hunt for 18 of my 20 years there. He’s the guy who made the difference for me. They’ve fallen on hard times. That’s for sure.”

The point here is not just for Peterson to dance on the Chiefs’ rubble. There is some perspective in remembering what he and Lamar Hunt made together. They built the Chiefs’ brand in the 1990s. Through much of the 1980s, the team was a local afterthought. If they won, cool. If they lost, whatever. Nobody much noticed.

That began to change when Hunt hired Peterson, and Peterson hired coach Marty Schottenheimer and the whole thing just took off, with seven playoff appearances in the first eight years of the 1990s.

The Chiefs’ parking lot became the biggest party in Kansas City. Arrowhead Stadium became one of the toughest places to play in the NFL. Peterson, who lives in New York now, is one of the strongest connections we have to that time.

“We had fun at it,” he says. “We made it a fun thing. We made it a family thing. Lamar believed very much in that, and I did, too. He was a wonderful owner. He’d say, ‘How can I help?’ I’d say, ‘Lamar, I need you to do a contest in the parking lot to judge buses and vans that fans have painted,’ and he loved that.”

Now, of course, that is all different. Lamar’s son Clark fired Peterson two years after taking over, and Peterson says the two never communicate.

The Chiefs made massive personnel changes after Peterson was fired, often dropping thinly veiled shots along the way. Peterson hasn’t been back to Arrowhead since, and remains touchy about not being invited to Schottenheimer’s induction to the team’s Ring of Honor.

It is a vastly different franchise now, and when Scott Pioli took over for Peterson after a 2-14 disaster in 2008, that was part of the point. The Chiefs were broken and needed fixing. A youth movement that started under Peterson — Brandon Flowers, Tamba Hali, Jamaal Charles, Derrick Johnson and other key players who predate Pioli — needed structure, and until this season, there was reason for optimism.

Now, the big story out of the parking lot before Sunday’s loss to the Bengals was the team stopping the mass distribution of flyers listing some unflattering facts about the Chiefs on one side and “FIRE PIOLI” on the other.

The Chiefs have never had a disconnect with their fans like this. That was always a priority with Peterson, sometimes to the point of being criticism. The common knock on the Chiefs was that they cared more about filling the stadium than advancing in the playoffs.

Now, team and town would settle for a fun atmosphere and competitive team. The last man to oversee a run like that watches from a distance.

“I do come back to Kansas City,” he says. “I still have a home there. People on the street, they’re very disappointed. Some of them are angry at what’s transpired. I’m sorry to see that. It’s no longer my watch, so I can have my personal feelings about it, but it’s not my responsibility anymore.”

To me, it was unthinkable. I remember listening to press conference in my office at Paramount on computer speakers thinking "What the **** now?".

Unfortunately, the "now" was Gunther Cunningham.

I remember the very first thing he said was along the lines of "There is no problem in my marriage with my wife". Probably shouldn't have led with that. That's akin to vailpass saying "I'm not a racist, BUT...."

Saying that he should have left in '98 is speaking in hindsight, no question. But the Gunther hiring and firing was pathetic, and Vermeil + Carl were incredibly toxic and destructive.

If '98 wasn't the year, it sure as hell was when Gun was fired, but that would have required proactive ownership.

I've voiced my displeasure and disgust over the Vemeil years, so there's no reason for me to go there. But with that said, I understand why he stayed after Marty left. He'd only hired one coach during his tenure to that point, so I'm sure he felt he could keep it going.

I also understand why he fired Gunther when Vermeil, his best friend and mentor, decided he wanted to coach again. But the bottom line, to me, is that Carl should have left when Vermeil called it quits.

He seriously tarnished his reputation by not leaving and hiring Herm. If he had left after the 2005, I'm sure his tenure would be looked upon far more favorably.

You are probably too young to remember but before Carl arrived, Kansas City didn't give two shits about the Chiefs, let alone football in general.

They were blacked out for years on end. No one went to the stadium. They went 17 years between playoff appearance, then fired the coach that got them there. They were a national and local joke.

Peterson immediately gave creditability to the Chiefs, not only nationally but more importantly, locally. He hired Marty Schottenheimer, drafted Thomas and began not only building a very good team but within a year, made Arrowhead THE Kansas City destination.

All of the sudden, the Chiefs had a weekly TV show. Radio shows popped up all over town. The Chiefs re-energized the city.

It was an extremely exciting time. People lived and died with the Chiefs. If they won, everyone was happy and ecstatic on Mondays. If they loss, there was an air of depression that could be felt citywide.

No one ever discussed Carl being a failure in Year Four.

I was barely young enough to latch on during the last couple years before Carl got there and the team was on the back of Okoye...but I was only around 10 years old at the time. I totally agree that the first 5 or 6 years of Carl were really good, but IMO he always valued the quick fix over the long term one and that left the team always on the cusp, but never able to get over the hump.

I also think that the majority of the credit for those years should go to Marty, too. Look at what happened to the team once he left town...

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

. No shit. People weren't flying banners over Arrowhead after the Chiefs advanced to the AFC Championship Game?

Carl and Marty literally built the Arrowhead experience, and it's amazing the amount of revisionist history that has vilified every aspect of Peterson's tenure. Yes, the end was really bad. But that's generally how long-term relationships end.

The beginning, though, was nothing short of fantastic, and it's exactly what the organization and city needed.

If Carl would have gotten Marty a franchise level quarterback, the team could have won championships IMO. Look at what happened in the flicker of time we had Joe and Allen.

Like I said earlier though, Carl deserves all the credit for getting a legit coach like Marty just like he deserves the grief for his failures.

You guys know this better than I do, who was the shot caller on the whole Grbac/Gannon deal?

IMO that team would have won some really big games if we had went with Gannon at that point in time and from my recollection it was Carl that made that call because of the money he paid to Elvis.

If Carl would have gotten Marty a franchise level quarterback, the team could have won championships IMO.

There's no question. But look back over the drafts during this time period and you'll see why some people today claim that QBs are incredibly risky to draft. There were a shit ton of busts. Teams weren't astute at drafting and developing, and the college game was different, too.

Football has evolved.

Ultimately, Carl couldn't finish the job. He was really ****ing good, exactly what the city/team needed at the time, but he wasn't great. We desperately need to find great now, though, since Pioli has ****ed the shit out of the franchise and city.

__________________

Quote:

Originally Posted by badgirl

If you met me in person and didn't know who I was you would never guess it was me.

I'm not a Herm fan, but the guy went to the playoffs every year his quarterback stayed healthy...he even won some playoff games once he got in the tournament and was a couple missed FGs away from a serious run.

To say that he would have ruined Aaron Rodgers is probably false, but one will never know.

Remember, when Trent went down that Herm team made the playoffs with Huard...no way Rodgers would have been worse.

Now, team and town would settle for a fun atmosphere and competitive team. The last man to oversee a run like that watches from a distance.

No, I won't. And **** Mellinger for making such a dumb and insulting statement, as if we are some dumb sheep fans who just want a fun time and some more 9-7 seasons. **** that. **** Mellinger for saying that. **** Carl because what is happening now does not excuse his fail, and **** Pioli...